Ditch the New Year's Resolution: Eat Intuitively All Holiday Season Long!
Diana Marlin, RD, LDN
With the holidays approaching, I hear a lot of people say that they plan to wait until New Year’s Day to start prioritizing wellness. The truth is, the holidays are actually a wonderful time to start practicing intuitive and mindful eating.
The holidays are a time for food, family, friends, and togetherness. Here are 5 simple tips to eat intuitively this holiday season.
1. Cherish the holiday food traditions that matter to you. During the holidays, thoroughly enjoy the special treats that mean something to you, and if you never really liked those store-bought cookies anyway, consider mindfully passing on them. The wonderful foods of the holiday season BELONG in a healthy, balanced life. Give yourself permission to enjoy them freely because a restrictive mindset makes it much harder to eat your holiday favorites in a balanced, healthy way.
2. It’s totally normal to go back for seconds, and it’s also totally normal to not finish everything on your plate It’s unlikely that you’ll always know exactly how much food your body wants and needs while serving yourself food at the start of a meal. Instead of assuming that the amount that you served yourself is the amount you’re obligated to eat, check in with your body and mind through the meal and accept that it is perfectly normal to either go back for a second helping or to not finish everything on your plate.
3. Nourish your body gently through the season Feeling well can help you to enjoy the season more fully. Once you give yourself permission to enjoy the treats of the holidays freely, it becomes easier over time to recognize when your body is truly hungry for a cookie, a piece of fruit, a bowl of veggies and hummus, cheese and crackers, etc.
4. Make activities a part of the festivities! Instead of only focusing on the food, why not encourage a family football game, hike, movie outing, or other non-food activity. It may become a fun new tradition!
5. Ditch the resolution mindset. Remember that all kinds of meals fit into a balanced healthy lifestyle, and that the all or nothing mindset will only ever hold you back.
This time of year especially, it is so important to remember that food is joy, that restriction and deprivation make it harder to have a healthy relationship with food, and that all foods that are important to you can fit into your healthy and balanced life. Throughout the holiday season and into the New Year, honor your body with delicious foods, gentle nutrition, and joyful self care.
Interested in learning more about shifting to a healthier, more balanced lifestyle? Watch this mindset shift video.
